A Romanian Holiday
by Medellia Grey
Summary: Penelope Clearwater didn't think her life would be this way. She didn't think she'd be living with her father in Romania. She didn't think she'd be alone... And she certainly didn't think that she'd let another Weasley into her life.
1. Default Chapter

Penelope Clearwater slowly descended the shaking airplane and walked into the Muggle terminal. It was 10:45 A.M. _He should be here,_ she thought to herself as she looked around the corridor. She raised her head over the crowd and smiled with a small sigh. 

         "Penny! Penny!!!! Oh, how have you been?" she heard the excited voice of her father through all the people.

         "Dad!!" She ran into the outstretched arms of her father. They then walked out of Alexandria International Airport and into Alexandria, Romania.

         The air held a hint of cold and Penelope tightened her scarf around her neck.

         "Penpen, here's where the car is. Isn't it wonderful? I can't wait to show you around. I'm so glad you've come," he beamed at her.

         "Me too, Dad, me too."

         Then they stopped talking. That was the way it was with Penny and her father. They didn't have much to say to one another except the requisite 'I love you' and 'How nice it is you're here!'. She loved her dad, but she didn't know or understand him. Maybe it was because he was just such a Muggle. Not like it could be helped, of course, she laughed to herself, but he was just… so Muggle like. He knew of magic - after all, he had married a witch. He was fascinated by Penny's stories of Hogwarts (she flinched inwardly at the thought) and magic. He loved to hear about the 'other' world. But Penny knew that that was partly his problem – he imagined the magical world as a story in one of his novels. And it wasn't.

         But she felt like she had missed out on getting to know her dad, and when she had decided it was time for a holiday, she only thought of going to Romania, her father's home country. All she wanted to do was to get away from magic, from the Ministry… and from a Weasley.

         They drove out of the city and into the countryside.

         "Dad, you never told me you didn't live in the city," Penelope burst out in surprise.

         "Hm? Oh, well, sorry 'bout that. It's very close, that ok?"

         "No, it's perfect. I need some peace and quiet, that's all."  
         "Em… yeah. Right."

         Penelope looked out the car window. It was beautiful. The countryside wasn't desolate, no, but it was calm. What she wanted. She closed her eyes and thought of England.

         "I'm so glad to be gone," she murmured.

         "What was that, sweet?"  
         "Oh, nothing, just thinking aloud."

       She knew that she had needed a break. She hadn't felt comfortable at the Ministry of Magic, where she had been employed for the past two years since she had graduated from Hogwarts. She'd worked in various departments – usually as an assistant codeworker or historian or some other specialty involving lots of reading. But that was what she was best at – reading and interpreting signs. Still, she never enjoyed it there. It was so… political! Of course it was political! But sometimes it didn't feel clean or right. She knew she was overreacting, obviously, since she hadn't had a very good experience there.  But all she knew was that now she needed a bit of Muggle simpleness in her life.

Her father pulled into the driveway of a large, three-story farmhouse. It looked homey and friendly… just like her dad."You like it?" he asked nervously.

         "It looks wonderful," she grinned.

         "Come in! Come in!" he ushered.

         The inside of the house was just as simple as the outside. The colors were muted, and there was nothing flashy at all -- so unlike their old house. She had to smile with wonder how her parents ever fell in love. They had been so different… 

         He showed her around the house and then into her room. It had nothing in it, only a bed.

         She looked at him strangely, "I don't mean to be rude, but where's all the stuff?"

         "Well… I was… uh… hoping that you'd be staying long enough to decorate it yourself."

         She smiled at her father lovingly.

         "Thanks. Thank you."

         Her dad grew very red and guided her out of the house and into the fields.

         "I have horses, you know. You can ride any of them any time you'd like."

         Her dad left and she walked around the stable by herself. Everything was so new to her. For once she wasn't feeling too bookish, or too snooty… She wasn't feeling too much of anything, kind of numb. _After all,_ she thought to herself as she sat under a tree outside, _I only decided to come here a week ago. _

              She had only written her dad of her plans to stay with him a few short days ago, but she knew he'd take her in. He felt the same way about her as she felt about him. Love, but no understanding of the other. They were just way too different at times. Yes, both were bookish and quiet, but Penelope lived a completely different life that her dad would never be part of. But they both, secretly, thought that maybe they could take their two different lives and put them together and become something they hadn't been for a long time… a family.

                  For the most part, the days passed uneventfully. Her father wrote most of the day, and then she would read it and make suggestions, the normal thing for them. She loved dinner with her dad – it was the sweetest thing to her. He always cooked so well, and without any magic. The smell of food would pass through the whole house, making her feel at home… something that she had missed while she was staying at Hogwarts. As a child, she hadn't really been that bookish or pretentious. But now, now those two things defined her. Then her mom had died of cancer when she was ten and she had begun to turn inwards. She would read all the time, and she loved it. She could bury herself into a book, another world, and then her letter had come and she went off to Hogwarts. She'd always wanted to go to a wizarding school – her mom had gone to Beauxbatons, but she knew that Hogwarts was the place for her. There, she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw and she stopped missing her home and mom and dad so much… The other Ravenclaws understood her love of books and she loved talking with them, especially the older students. Ravenclaw was like this other home, this other world that felt like a safe haven. And then she had met Percy Weasley, smart, law-abiding, cute Percy. He'd been in Gryffindor, but they shared a couple classes, and the love of the library. Sometimes she'd tease him and ask exactly why he was in Gryffindor when he was so much better suited to Ravenclaw. They'd laugh and he would blame it on his red hair. But ever since he had graduated and gone to the Ministry, Penelope realized that maybe he had more attributes of Slytherin than anything. All he cared about was his career. And that had scared her. Of course, though, she had fallen in love with him so she didn't mind much.. But then it had become his whole life and he told her she wasn't important to him. He told her that he needed to further his career without her for a few years and then when the time was right to take a wife, in accordance to his position in the Ministry, he'd take her back. Penelope sighed. It had hurt her, but for some reason, not as much as she'd planned. She used to imagine marrying Percy, joining the happy, boisterous Weasley family. But she knew now she didn't want to marry Percy. Ever. Her life since Hogwarts had been boring, sitting behind a desk. She wanted something new. It didn't have to be exciting – that really wasn't her style, but she wanted to feel something that being in love with Percy didn't offer. With them it had been like good friends, caring for each other (however one-sided it had been towards the end)… No passion really.. Not that Penny had minded at the time. She was too intellectual, she thought, to want passion. All she wanted to do was to expand her mind. And Percy loved to study too… Then she started to read Muggle books more often, something she hadn't done in a long time. The stories of love and passion seemed foreign to her, as she and Percy didn't share that at all. And then they/he ended it and she wanted a vacation.

         "Dad, I'm taking Chanel for a ride, ok?"

         "Alright, Penpen, go have lots of fun!"  
         She smiled. She liked her dad talking to her as though she was still some little kid sometimes. It made her feel ok, like everything would be fine. That even though she was twenty, maybe she could go back and redo some of her life. 

         She loved riding in the fields and over the land. Her favorite place to go was just to the top of the hill surrounding her father's land. From there she could see Alexandria and watch the city life, all by herself. She used to hate being alone all the time, but now it was something she cherished. She really wasn't alone though, she was with Chanel. She giggled at the corniness of her thought - nature. She'd never really liked animals, they were smelly, didn't talk and were horrible to care for. Care of Magical Creatures had been one of the few classes she hadn't excelled in, well, at least according to her standards. Any other student probably would have cried with joy for her marks. But then in her fifth year something had happened to her. She'd been petrified, and that had really affected her. She'd felt dead, and Percy had been so kind… so kind…

         Today would be the day that she would go over the hill. She'd wanted to do it since she had arrived, but for some odd reason always she felt the urge to turn around at the top. But she wanted to go somewhere new, see something out of the ordinary.

         She got to the top of the hill in about thirty minutes. Of course she could have Apparated there, but then what would be the point? She rode down. The valley looked pretty removed from the outside world. She looked around and noticed something was going on…something magical. She rode a little further and began to hear noises, knowing that no Muggle could hear them. What was going on in Romania????

         She dismounted and ducked a little behind a boulder and heard a huge roar, and then heard a loud male yelling over the howling.

         "Hey, mates, c'mon! Just stick it! C'MON!!!"

         Then the noise dimmed and Penelope felt brave enough to look to the side. She screamed when she saw the creature, (A DRAGON!! She whimpered to herself) and the man turned around and saw her. And then she screamed again and fainted.

"Hey, ya ok?" the man asked.

         "She can't be a Muggle, can she, Charlie?" said the other man with him.

         "No, she's not. I think I recognize her, in fact. Odd."  
         "Well, I better get back to Hattie, to make sure she's good. Why don't ya take her to the mess?"

         "Sure you won't be needing me?"

         "Nah, mate, ya go on."

         The man called Charlie lifted up Penelope, who was just awakening.

         "Wait! Put me down!"

         Charlie smiled at her as he set her down into a chair, "Well, welcome to the Romanian Dragon Reservation. Not a Muggle, I would guess?"

         "No…you're a Weasley. What's a Weasley doing here?"

         Charlie laughed, "I knew I knew you! Or well, I don't really know who you are but you seem quite familiar, but anyways, I guess the red hair speaks for itself, huh? I'm Charlie Weasley and how do I know you, exactly? I'm afraid I can't remember much, been hit with too many Bludgers and dragon tails, I guess."

         "I'm… uh, I was Percy's girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater."

         "Oh, well, welcome! How's Percy? Why are you here? Like that Romanian Longhorn?" He laughed and then added when Penelope involuntarily shut her eyes, "Well, I guess it was a surprise. Although you must know that Romania has the largest dragon reservation in the world…"

         "Well, it didn't really cross my mind when I came here. Um.."

         "Hey, know what? I've got a break. I'd love to chat and stuff, as long as it's over some food. The mess is just over there…"

         "Chanel? Where's Chanel?"

         "Your horse? She's in the stable, don't worry, she hasn't been eaten just yet. She's with some sheep. Now _they_'ll be eaten," he grinned wickedly.

         Penelope still couldn't get over the fact that the one type of person she didn't want to see was a Weasley and there was a red haired guy right in front of her. But he was so different from Percy! The only way they were the same was the flaming red hair. But she could already tell it looked much better on Charlie. He was shorter than Percy, just 5'11", maybe 6'0", and he was grinning like crazy all the time. He seemed a bit mad, in fact. He looked almost tan and his muscled arms had burns and scars.

         "I haven't talked to anyone from England in so long! And I'd love to hear about my fellow red heads!"

         Penelope still was having some trouble adjusting to the fact that there was a Weasley in Romania. Sure, Percy had mentioned his brother Charlie, but she had never paid much attention. But here he was, and Charlie was acting like it was the most normal thing in the world! So maybe Romania wouldn't be as calm and ordinary…and Muggle-like as she had thought it would be.  
         The two entered the mess together and every eye turned towards Penelope. As good as she was at interpreting signs in books, in the real world she was horrible. There were some women in the Reservation, of course, but Penelope was pretty. She didn't know it and she didn't care. She hadn't really brushed her long, curly black hair for a few days (her old friends would've been in shock!) but she still looked pretty and all the men in the mess noticed. 

         "Hey, Charlie, sit over here, will ya?" shouted a young man with a thick Scottish accent.

         "Nah, today I've got some catching up to do!"

         Another guy, with a huge scar across his chin yelled across the room, "Ah, catching up! Is that what they call it nowadays?"

         Charlie laughed and guided Penelope through the buffet line and then took her outdoors to one of the tables.      

"Yeah, we've got a pretty rowdy bunch, but that's what happens when a good-looking girl walks through. So, what's going on with Percy?"

"I don't know."

"What's that?"

"Oh, well…um…we broke up, two months ago."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I hadn't heard. Drat. I'm awfully sorry there, Penelope. Awfully."

"It's alright, it was mutual, you know the drill."

Charlie's eyes slightly glazed over, "Yes, I remember when Vipina had to go…it was terrible. I can still hear her cries, ya know? Definitely not mutual for us though. I don't think she wanted to go either, but the Peruvian government wanted her back."

Penelope's eyes grew wide with shock and confusion, "What an extraordinary story! What was she like?"  
         "Ah, she was fast, coppery… Loved to eat humans though, that was the problem."

Penelope erupted with laughter.

"What? What? It's not funny when you have to part with the thing you love best, I thought you'd get that," he said frankly.

"No, no, I do understand. It's just I thought Vipina was a person, not a dragon!"  
         Then the two laughed, and the ice broke between them. Their conversation flowed easily as Charlie asked why she was there and about her father, and Penelope asked about his work.

"Work? You call dragons work? Nah, I'd call it a dream. The best thing in the world."

"That's wonderful."

"Yeah, it really is."

Then the man with the Scottish accent walked up to them and slapped Charlie playfully on the back, "Ok chap, time to stop the flirting and get ta herding! And while you're away, I'll be sure to take care of this nice young lady." He winked at Penelope who looked up in confusion. Flirting was definitely not in her repertoire, but she laughed anyway.

"I'm Ewan. And you?"

"Penelope, nice to meet you."

"That's what they all say 'till they get to know me," he grinned.

Charlie snorted and nodded fervently to Penelope, "But usually it just happens the minute they lay eyes on him."

She grinned at Charlie. Ewan walked away in a fake huff, then turned back, waved and shouted, "Alright there, Charles! Just a few more minutes! Hattie should be up soon, ya here?"  
         Charlie laughed and waved him off. 

"I'm sorry to keep you," Penelope got up to leave.

"No, no! I like the company. Especially when it's a pretty girl," he grinned.

_Damn Weasleys_, she thought to herself and smiled.

Penelope rode around the Reservation for most of the day. She stuck to the outskirts, since that was the place with the least chance of dragons. They scared her so much. Some were large, some smaller, but all of them were so powerful. They scared her almost as much as they fascinated her. She'd never seen one up close and never been near something so dominant. Charlie and Ewan and all the guys (and the one girl working with Hattie) were all so brave and adventurous, like in one of the Muggle novels she loved. She felt very boring in comparison to them. 

After a while, Penelope rode back home to the house. It was dinnertime and she greeted her father at the table.

"Where have you been, sweet?" her father asked worriedly.

She looked at him in surprise. "Just riding, that's all."

"Right. Well, you know… I just got worried, that's all."

"I'm twenty, not two, dad."

"I know, sorry 'bout that. So, where did ya go?"

"Up and over the hill."  
         "Ah, not much there, huh? Looks pretty nasty, if ya ask me. All those keep-out signs and the air is so bloody thick!"

"Hm?" Penelope began to ask a question but quickly thought better of it. _Stupid, stupid me, she thought to herself. _How could I have forgotten that Muggles can't always see things that witches and wizards can? What's gotten into me?_  
         After dinner, her dad went to a party and Penelope went to her room. She plopped down on her bed and proceeded to try and brush her thick, curly black hair without much luck. She opened her book and started to read but she couldn't concentrate. Weasleys were everywhere she turned! They were even in Romania – Romania for Merlin's sake!!! She couldn't escape them. But, she admitted to herself, maybe she didn't want to. _


	2. A Pleasant Chat

The next morning she awoke at the crack of dawn. She'd had a nightmare about Hattie, the Romanian Longhorn. Hot, red flames spit at her, scarring her face. Then Percy laughed.

She sat down on the floor of her washroom and cried. She didn't know what else to do.

A week passed since she had last been to the dragon reservation, and she felt an itching to go and see the creatures. She was also feeling sort of lonely. Seeing as how her father was a writer, he spent most of his time alone, plus he wasn't exactly a friend. So she took Chanel and rode over the hill, this time heading for one of the designated entrances she saw. When she arrived at the gate, a wizard looked at her suspiciously.  
"Top-Secret government project. No civilians allowed," he grunted.

Penelope looked down at her clothes. Of course! She looked like a regular Muggle!

"Excuse me, I'm a witch and I'd like…"

"Ah, well, sorry there miss, but you need to have a pass to get in. You can head to the main office if-" the wizard was cut off when a man ambled over and whacked the guy on his head.

"Albert! Honestly, talking to a lady disrespectfully! You should be ashamed!" he laughed.

"Hello there, Penny! Wonderin' when you'd come back around! Thought you'd left us forever. Hattie would want to say goodbye, of course," he grinned.

_Stupid grin,_ she smiled to herself.

"Oh, sorry, Charlie. I didn't know you knew her. Sorry 'bout that."

"That's all I get from you, 'sorry Charlie'! In all honesty, when are you going to do your job right?"

"The minute you get out of what's left of my hair, that's when!" Albert snorted.

"Come on Penny, let's get Chanel girl here into our lovely slaughterhouse, er…I mean stable of course!"

"Very funny."

"So, where've you been? I mean, I haven't been wondering, but my mate Ewan has."

"Have not," grinned the Scot who popped out from behind Charlie.

Penelope gave a small yelp of surprise.

"Didn't mean to scare you, missy."

"Just looking at your face would do it for me," Charlie smirked at his friend.

Ewan grabbed his heart like he had been stabbed smack in the middle, "Ack, my friend, my pal… Oh, how my 'eart hurts! You bastard!"

Penelope giggled. Charlie and Ewan just seemed so fun. Real simple guys, for sure, but entertaining and friendly.

They unloaded Chanel in the stable and Charlie looked over towards Penelope with a smile.

"Ready for something new?"

"Um…sure?" she said nervously, then found her voice. "Yes, definitely."

"Alright, I'm going to take you around today! Ewan, I'm going to sign out for the day, ok?"  
"Sign out? It's only twelve bloody thirty in the afternoon! A bit early, wouldn't ya say?"

"Is that how you treat your best mate? Cursing him?"

"I could curse ya a lot worse then that with bloody Muggle words, you know!"

Charlie ushered Penelope outside.

"Where've ya been? I'm telling you, Hattie's been asking for you like crazy. She loves to give people a good scare."

"Is it that rare?"

"Nah, not really. But, after all, this is the prime spot for dragons in the world. Usually only people who love dragons come here. It wouldn't be good if all the dragon experts in the world were afraid of them!"

He led her to the top of a small hill. Looking down she saw three beautiful scarlet dragons.

He whispered into Penny's ear, "It's very rare that dragons consent to sharing their space with any others, except a mate. But these three are unusual. They have plenty of land but oddly enough, they seem to enjoy each other's company. We stunned them early this morning – it took the whole Chinese Fireball team, plus Ewan and me. We have to stun 'em to study 'em."

"What do they like to eat? They're gorgeous…"

"They're pretty when they're asleep like this, but gorgeous when they're awake and almost about to eat ya. They love humans, but they'll settle for pigs."  
She yelped, "Humans?"

"Did you pay attention at all in Care of Magical Creatures, Penny?" he grinned.

"I'll have you know I was at the top of my class!"  
"How Ravenclaw of you. Most dragons love human flesh – I myself enjoy it too," he grinned at her, making her face turn crimson. "But we have special spells that make us more repellent to them, so usually we only get charred. See here?" he pointed to a goopy spot on his arm, "I was just singed a few days ago by the female, Liona. Females are the more aggressive race of dragon. Some people find that a bit odd, but I just think they hold a grudge longer, that's all. Em…what do you think?" he asked uneasily.

"Depends on the female, I would bet. But why would a dragon hold a grudge?"

"Well…sometimes her mate leaves her…"  
Penelope was beginning to catch on, "Ahh…well, I guess if the dragon still loved her mate then yes, I bet she would. But if she knew it was for the best, I think she'd be just fine and wouldn't hate the brother of her mate." She smiled at Charlie.

"Remember, I'm a Ravenclaw."

"Right, right…well, I just had to know, that's all. It's been bugging me, since you never came back. I thought that maybe the sight of red hair scared you off."

She shook her head, even though in a way he was more right then he'd ever know, "No, not at all. I was just…. busy."

Charlie didn't say anything and led her back into the main meeting area. Tons of people shouted hellos at him and he waved back. He sat her down on a bench and got two waters.

"You're quite popular," she said.

"Yeah…it's a bit odd. I'm not really very social. But people here love dragons just as much as I do so it makes everything a whole lot easier. I usually hate talking to people I don't know, it scares me a bit."

"You talk with me just fine… _You_ get scared? Somehow I don't believe it."  
"People scare me, no need to laugh now. But I like you and I can't stand talking to people I'm not quite partial to. I hate saying words that don't need to be said."

"Exactly. What I'm sick of is people talking just because they feel they have to. I don't think many people realize that a good conversation doesn't always need a lot of words."

He grinned at her, "So true," he nodded.

"Penny? Is it ok if I call you that?" he asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Penelope just seems so much more snobbish than you really are."

"You might just be the first person to have called me not snobbish."

"Well, I'd like to meet more snobs like you in that case," he smiled.

He was always smiling. It was almost permanent on his face. It never bothered her though. It just constantly made her want to smile right back at him.

"So, want to see any other dragons next? We only have the Chinese Fireballs, Hattie, and then one Swedish Short-Snout. The rest are flying free," he grinned, "but don't worry, we've got protective spells set up around the whole place. The five are just in for testing and studies, but the Short-Snout is in a bit of trouble. It makes great boots, and gloves, and other such… and they're quite often poached for it. After we study 'em, and they die, 'course we have to make products and such, but some manufacturers just outright try and kill them for it. On our own goddamn reservation! If they're flying free, then it's not as big a deal, I mean, to _me_, it still is. But they attacked the Short-Snout out in the mountains, maybe fifty miles away, wounded it pretty bad before we could move her out. Anyway, I just don't think you should see her. I don't think I should either, it makes me spitting mad. So, how about Hattie?" he laughed.

"Hmmm…well, this is just such a tough decision! Hmmm…how about not!" she laughed.

"Aw, come on. She's a real sweetie when she's been stunned. Of course, when she's not, she's a beast. I love it."

"Maybe some other time," Penny smiled faintly.

"So you'll come again then?"

"Of course! I can only stand Muggleness for a small period of time before I need some magic. I haven't even used my wand once since I've been here!"

"Wow, that's some self-restraint. I have to use my wand everyday," he grinned.

"So, when will you be back? I'd love to meet with ya again, it was a good thing I caught up with you today."

"Well, I could just send an owl or you could, whenever something interesting was going on? I've got my owl flying free, I'm sure she's quite bored."

"Sounds great. By the way, I live on the reservation, just so ya know."

"Ok, well, see ya – you - soon."

Penny walked off, got her horse, and rode back home to her dad and the Muggle world. When she got home, she decided to take the car out to Alexandria for the rest of the day. She spent the evening driving around and then stopped at a coffee shop and listened to a poem session spoken completely in Romanian. It fascinated her. She sat and listened, not to the words, but to the emotions she could hear in them. To the feelings. She'd been in Romania for a whole month now – it'd been three months since she and Percy had ended their "relationship." She didn't miss England like she thought she would. Everyone there was too witty and too snobbish and too fake, it seemed. Just like she had been…just like she was? She sat back and drank a sip of her coffee and put all thoughts out of her mind. All she could hear were the feelings.

When she got back home, it was pretty late, around 12:30 P.M. The poetry had then converged into music and she had sat talking, as best she could, with a young man in Romanian. Her one downfall had always been languages, but her dad was really helping her with it. She parked the car and walked into the house and went straight to the kitchen, needing a snack.

She turned on the light and saw a note tapped on the refrigerator door. It read:

Pen – I went to bed, just wanted to say hi. An owl came for you; here's the note. Don't worry, I didn't read it – I learned from that a long time ago!

Love – Dad

Penny laughed aloud. She remembered what her dad was talking about vividly. When she had been eight, her parents hadn't known if she would have any magic in her yet – she hadn't really done anything yet, late development. One day, an owl had arrived for her from her friend Kathy, in it she had talked about the boys they liked in their primary school. Her dad had read it and when Penelope had found it, she became so angry that she made her dad's nose grow ten inches long (plus a very hairy mole attached to the end)! Her mother had cried with joy because her daughter wasn't a Muggle and her dad was in literal shock. His wife did crazy things all the time, but his own daughter? Who was practically the splitting image of him! It had shocked him, for sure, because he had thought she didn't have any magic. But they always laughed about it now.

She opened the note and realized she didn't recognize the handwriting, but she began reading anyway.

Hey Penny! Hope your dad's fine with getting owls. I know you said you liked all the peace and quiet and so do I, so I thought that maybe I could show you a fun, peaceful, but interesting time. Maybe just around the village outside the reservation? It's pretty nice, and I thought that maybe you'd like to hang out or something. But if you can't, that's great too. So, if you feel like it, just owl me back and we can do it tomorrow night? I don't have a night shift then. If you can, I'll pick you up at 6-ish, all right?

Charlie

Penelope twitched her nose as she thought._ I do need to go out and start to get my life back on track. To experience new things was exactly why I came to Romania. _She quickly ran upstairs to grab a quill.

Charlie – I'd love to join you tomorrow. Thanks very much for the invitation.

She sent it off with her own owl, Titania, and lay down to fall asleep. She was tired, but she felt a stirring. She got up and walked outside into the cool September breeze. Then she Apparated to the top of the hill and slowly began to climb down, taking out her wand and quickly lighting a fire to see by. She walked down until she crept behind the boulder she had hid behind on her first visit. Luckily no dragons were flying about, so she stuck her head out for a look. Maybe a hundred yards away was a beast like no other she had ever seen. It was black and looked like a giant lizard towering in the air. About ten men were holding it down with chains as it spewed fire. She could feel the heat of it, and slowly bent back behind the boulder to catch her breath. It was so far away…and those men were right up there. She heard them yelling and had to look over. She had to see if Charlie was there. Slowly she lifted her head to try and make out the men working on the monster. All the men were slowly walking away from the animal, but then it suddenly woke up and breathed fire on what seemed like the backs of the men. She gasped, but none were hurt. They must've put up a protective force. She felt as though her heart were beating outside of her body. That had been the most terrifying thing she had ever seen. Even more frightening than seeing the basilisk in her fifth year. She held her breath and looked over the rock. The men were walking closer to her, and talking.

"That was fierce stuff, man. Crazy brute, thought it was going to spike me behind in the beginning! Good work out there, all."

She heard a very familiar Scottish voice answer, "Yeah, that was wild. But I'm dead tired!"

"Hey, Charlie, you working tomorrow night?"

"Nah, taking the night off."  
"Lady friend," Ewan's voice filled the quiet night.

"Hope it's not like tha last one, there," laughed the other man.

"Honestly, when is a man's business his own, really?"

"Yes, don't tease my poor mate there. He's rather pathetic."

"How pathetic was I yesterday when I caught the Snitch before you and we won? Hm?"

"Alrighty, Charlie boy. 'Course you're better than me. But then again you are much shorter and rather unattractive, so I guess it evens out, eh?"

Charlie laughed and the voices faded away.

Penny yawned and Apparated straight into bed.


End file.
